Yearly Archives: 2014

REVIEW: “Fruitvale Station”

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For those who may not know, “Fruitvale Station” is a docudrama based on the shooting death of 22-year old Oscar Grant by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer. The shooting took place on January 1, 2009 and was caught on numerous cell phone videos from witnesses. The incident would spark protests, unfortunate rioting, and dialogues about a number of feelings and concerns. Some have said this is was a racially motivated crime. I’m not sure there is definitive proof of that. Others have said the shooting resulted from Grant resisting arrest. I don’t think there is any way this tragedy can be fully placed on Oscar Grant’s shoulders. One thing is for certain, a young African-American man, a father, lost his life and it should have never happened.

“Fruitvale Station” marks the filmmaking debut from Ryan Coogler. He was drawn to the story and spent time with Grant’s family in order to develop a deeper more human profile. Coogler stated “I wanted the audience to get to know this guy, to get attached, so that when the situation that happens to him happens, it’s not just like you read it in the paper, you know what I mean? When you know somebody as a human being, you know that life means something.” It’s a smart approach that gives the film a real emotional kick. But some have criticized the overly sympathetic portrayal of Oscar saying that is glosses over some of his real personal and legal problems.

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When you go in the docudrama direction, especially when tackling such a potent incident, you open yourself up that kind of criticism. I did feel Coogler was softening the edges a bit in order to draw more empathy from the audience. That said, it never took away the hurt I felt for the family, the discomfort of watching the police aggression, or the sadness brought on by Oscar’s death. The film does a good job of drawing those emotions from us. Is the film emotionally exploitative at times? I think so. A few scenes are a bit heavy-handed and a more seasoned filmmaker would have probably avoided them. Still the overall impact of the film is strong despite these issues.

This movie is a remarkable feature film debut for Coogler but he’s not the only revelation found in “Fruitvale Station”. 26-year old Michael B. Jordan is excellent. Known mainly for his work in television and in last year’s “Chronicle”, Jordan has caught a lot of attention playing Oscar Grant. There is a raw authenticity to what he is doing on screen that works perfectly with the role. He’s joined on screen by Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer who also helped produce the film. She plays Oscar’s mother and once again she is very good. Melonie Diaz does great work as well playing Oscar’s wife Sophina.

Minus a few small stumbles, which can be expected from a first time filmmaker, “Fruitvale Station” is still an emotionally powerful film that puts a spotlight on an unfortunate tragedy. Coogler makes a strong directorial debut but Michael B. Jordan also makes a statement in what should be a breakthrough performance. Even though I felt slightly manipulated as the story was moving along, the tense and gutwrenching ending was no less devastating. In the end this movie works, and it’s impossible not to be effected by it.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Oscar Nominations 2014 – Hits & Misses

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The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

Oh it’s that time of the year again. It’s Oscar season. A time where movie fans get to celebrate the past year in film by watching the Academy give awards to movies that will forever be connected to film history. Movies are a subjective form of entertainment so it’s rare for the Academy to get everything right in our own eyes. But sometimes they should be applauded for recognizing quality films and they should be chided when they completely blow it. This year the Academy again deserves to be applauded but they most certainly deserve to be chided as well. Here are my thoughts on the Oscars hits and misses:

  • Let me get this out of the way first, WHERE ON EARTH IS “INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS“? I look at the nine Best Picture nominees and several are what I would call lesser films. Even more, several of the films chosen, while good films, aren’t the kind of movies that will be talked about in ten years. “Inside Llewyn Davis” will be and it deserves to be. For me this will go down as one of Oscar’s worst snubs.
  • While I’m voicing frustration, where on earth is Oscar Isaac? Talk about an incredible multi-layered performance. Excuse me while I make an unpopular statement – I would much rather see Isaac nominated for “Inside Llewyn Davis” than Leo DiCaprio for “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Isaac was brilliant and not only acted but performed his own music. Maybe he doesn’t have the star power the Academy is looking for. What a shame.
  • Sticking to the Best Actor category, I’m happy for Christian Bale and his nomination for “American Hustle“. The Golden Globes snubbed him and put their attention on Lawrence, Adams, and Cooper. For me Bale was the lifeblood of that film. Loved his work there.
  • And lets not leave the Best Actor category just yet. How is Mads Mikkelsen not on this list for his near perfect performance in “The Hunt“. Look, I was never expecting him to make it, but he is another name that I would have loved to have seen instead of Leo.
  • Does Meryl Streep just automatically get a nomination regardless of the film? To be fair I haven’t seen “August: Osage County”. But many critics (who usually adore her) were calling her performance too loud and overdone. Yet here we are, another Oscars and another nomination for Streep.
  • No real surprises in the Best Supporting Actress category other than Julia Roberts (slightly). But this is Jennifer Lawrence’s statue to win. Is she deserving? Personally I don’t think so. She isn’t bad in “American Hustle” but the material doesn’t offer her a lot of range until a little later in the film. Still the Academy loves her and the much more deserving Lupita Nyong’o will go home empty-handed.
  • Big fan of Michael Fassbender’s work in “12 Years a Slave” and I would love to see him win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I’m also happy for Bradley Cooper, an actor who is getting better and better. And hats off to Barkhad Abdi. I loved seeing him at the Globes and he deserves a trip to the Oscars.
  • Surprised that “Blue is the Warmest Color” didn’t at least get an Oscar nomination in the Foreign Language Film category. I’m also surprised to see Asghar Farhadi’s “The Past” get snubbed. Personally “The Hunt” is the movie I’ll be rooting for but “The Great Beauty” may pull off yet another upset.
  • “Gravity” had a really nice morning. It’s my favorite film of the year but for some reason I don’t see it taking home the big prize. I would love to see Cuaron get Best Director and the film win Best Picture. But for some reason this doesn’t feel like the Academy’s cup of tea.
  • I still think that Oscar night will be a good one for “12 Years a Slave“. Not my favorite film of the year and certainly not perfect. But it is powerful stuff featuring some standout performances. It’s also one of the few nominated movies that has staying power. So call that my early prediction: “12 Years a Slave” will win Best Picture.

So there are a few random thoughts on this morning’s Oscar nominations. What say you? What did the Academy get right and what did it get wrong? Agree or disagree with my takes? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. Now on to March 2nd!

Here are the list of Oscar Nominees:

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years A Slave
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roperts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska

Original Song
Alone Yet Not Alone – Alone Yet Not Alone
Happy – Despicable Me 2
Let It Go – Frozen
The Moon Song – Her
Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Original Screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska

Best Animated Feature Film
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom

Best Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar

Best Director
David O. Russell – American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Best Actor
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

REVIEW: “American Hustle”

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I may not be a card-carrying member of the David O. Russell fan club, but there are several things you have to give him. He has a knack for creating and developing raw and thoroughly engaging characters. He is also able to put together incredible ensemble casts perfectly in tune with his characters. Both of these strengths are the key reasons why Russell’s new film “American Hustle” works. The movie has several of his same indulgences that don’t always work for me but it’s the characters and performances that makes this film so intriguing.

The movie is set in 1978 and is loosely based on the FBI’s ABSCAM operation. It’s a time of good music, big collars, and really bad hair. Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a con artist who joins up with and falls for Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). The two run a small time but controlled loan scam that is bringing in some nice cash. Things are going well until they are caught up with by an ambitious FBI agent named Richie Di Maso (Bradley Cooper). But Richie doesn’t want small time cons. He wants the career-boosting big fish. So he forces Irving and Sydney to work for him and entrap bigger targets, namely politicians and government officials.

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Irving doesn’t like his circumstances at all. He likes things small and low-key. He also doesn’t like Richie and his constant changing of the rules. He feels that going too big will jeopardize the whole operation. But the biggest threat to their plans may be Irving’s loose cannon wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). She’s loud, volatile, and she knows Irving has a thing for Sydney. That’s a pretty lethal cocktail. Another complication comes in the form of a New Jersey mayor named Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). He’s a popular and seemingly well-meaning guy who develops a friendship with Irving. The trouble is he becomes one of Richie’s prime targets.

This interwoven web of ‘who’s conning who’ could have been an utter mess but it actually plays out in an entertaining and fairly cohesive way. Much of that is due to the sharp script penned by Russell and Eric Warren Singer. It’s not perfect. There are lulls along the way and I couldn’t help but feel that they stretched the story to its limits. There are also a few glaring questions that remain unanswered. They don’t cripple the story the way major plot holes do, but they did stand out to me. Still, in terms of delivering a slick and stylish story, Russell and Singer pull it off.

But getting back to a previous thought, neither the direction nor the script are the film’s strongest point. The movie’s true success lies in the performances. It starts with Christian Bale. Armed with pretty much the same voice that he used playing Dicky in “The Fighter”, Bale was the most compelling character of the bunch. While he may sound like Dicky his physical appearance was quite different. In “The Fighter” Bale lost over 30 pounds to convincing depict a crack addict. In “American Hustle” he gained nearly 50 pounds which we get a good look at in the film’s opening scene. But Bale delivers much more than just a physical transformation. He gives us a character who is funny, selfish, crooked, pitiful, sympathetic – all encapsulated within a wonderful performance.

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I also liked Bradley Cooper, an actor who has gotten surprisingly better over time. His character is a little hard to gauge at first but as the story unfolds so does Richie’s personality and ambitions. Cooper gives an hearty performance that does at times get a tad too big but is still impressive. And speaking of big, Jennifer Lawrence is also good as the powder keg Rosalyn. She has already raked in a ton of critical acclaim but I wouldn’t call this her best work. The character is loud and abrasive by design so the performance has to be big. But it isn’t until later in the film that Lawrence is actually allowed to show her range. On the other hand Amy Adams (goofy split-up-the-front blouses aside) is fantastic. Her character isn’t a ‘take home to meet the parents’ kind of girl, but there is a sad and needy underlying thread to her. Adams never misses a beat. And I can’t forget Jeremy Renner who has a smaller role but to me was just as good as anyone else.

I can’t say that “American Hustle” has any kind of staying power and I don’t think I’ll remember it as one of the great films. But there is something about these generally unlikable characters that draws you to the screen. In typical David O. Russell fashion they are a little too abrasive for my taste. But each is fascinating in their own right and each truly desires something more: Irving – to be a more successful con, Richie – an FBI superstar, Sydney – British royalty, Rosalyn – a loved and appreciated wife, Carmine – a legendary mayor. Most of the credit for this goes to the performances. “American Hustle” is more of a showcase of great actors than it is great storytelling, but it still keeps you glued to the screen as you watch them do their work.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Inside Llewyn Davis”

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I am such a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen. Dating back to 1984 with their first film “Blood Simple”, the brothers have put together an incredible filmography, etching out a prominent name for themselves in the process. Not only that, they have developed into some of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Armed with a sharp wit and an undeniable style, the Coens have taken their special brand of cinema to a variety of places. Their latest is the early 1960s New York folk music scene. The film is “Inside Llewyn Davis” and while it may not be the best Coen brothers movie, it is undeniably theirs.

I was so glad to hear that Oscar Isaac had gotten the lead role. This criminally underrated actor has amazing acting chops yet rarely gets big leading parts. Here he plays Llewyn Davis, a down-on-his-luck musician struggling to get by in 1961 New York City. Llewyn’s singing partner has committed suicide, his solo album isn’t selling, and he is flat broke. He spends his nights on the couches of different acquaintances and his days trying to get enough gigs to get by until his big break comes.

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There really isn’t a lot of plot in “Inside Llewyn Davis”. We basically spend a few days with Llewyn witnessing his routine and seeing the nature of his struggles. It doesn’t take long to learn that Llewyn is his own worst enemy. He’s constantly driving people away whether it’s fellow musicians, family, hospitable friends, or even girlfriends. Llewyn is selfish, uncompromising, and irresponsible yet he never casts an examining light on himself. He’s not a character who will draw the audience’s affection. Much like the other people in his life, we can’t get that close to him even though we feel sympathy towards him. Llewyn is an extremely talented musician. He just needs to get himself out of the way.

This is a colder Coen brothers picture that clearly has no desire to be hopeful or uplifting. Perhaps that why I had trouble embracing the film at first. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying a movie has to be uplifting or hopeful. I don’t believe that at all. But watching Llewyn continually self-destruct for the entire film had me wishing for a glimmer of hope. There are a few scenes of the Coen’s signature dark humor that occasionally lighten things up, but mostly this is a pointed, unflinching character drama that captivated me while still holding me at arms length.

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As with all Coen brothers films this one is loaded with an assortment of interesting characters and captivating faces. We get quick but great roles for John Goodman and F. Murray Abraham. Justin Timberlake is surprisingly good as a fellow musician who is married to Llewyn’s ex-girlfriend Jean. She’s played by Carey Mulligan who is very good in the role. But her character is one of the few Coen creations that could have been handled better. She’s abrasive and profane to the point of being distracting. There is a subtle attempt at humor with Jean and her harsh personality but she disappears before we are allowed to see the compassionate side we are teased with. But this is Oscar Isaac’s show and he gives an Oscar-worthy performance. He brilliantly flexes his acting and singing muscles in what I hope is some career-launching work.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” has all the other traits you would expect from Joel and Ethan Coen. There is beautiful cinematography. The sense of time and place is impeccable. The music is unforgettable and the film features arguably the best soundtrack of the year. And it’s certainly a smart film featuring great vision and unquestionable craftsmanship. But for me it doesn’t quite rank up there with the Coen’s best pictures. That said, this is another time capsule experience brought to us by two of the best in the business, and anytime they make a movie it’s something special. Better yet, it has stuck with me and different themes from the film keep coming to mind. That a sign of something good.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Her”

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In the not too distant future of Spike Jonze’s “Her” technology has made major leaps, fashion senses have eroded, and Hollywood’s cynical views of relationships have remained the same. Loaded with ambition and lauded by many as the best movie of 2013, “Her” incorporates a familiar science-fiction concept into what is more or less a love story and relational study. But it’s far from conventional or cliché. That said, it isn’t a film free of problems which (for me) ultimately keep it from being the modern day masterpiece that some are touting it as.

The story revolves around Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix), a nerdy introvert who works as a letter writer for people who have a hard time sharing their feeling. Theodore is a lonely soul. He’s currently involved in divorce proceedings from his first wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) and he hasn’t been able to get out of his ever-present state of melancholy. He has practically no social life and outside of his longtime friend Aimee (Amy Adams), there is no significant person in his life.

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Theodore’s life takes a strange and unexpected turn when he purchases a new operating system for his computer. But this is no Windows XP. It is an adaptive artificial intelligence that evolves and takes on its own personality. The OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) goes by the name Samantha and soon develops a very personal and intimate relationship with Theodore. Samantha begins to fill the lonely void in Theodore’s life while he becomes her window to a new and exciting world. But the reality that she is an operating system causes him to wrestle with the legitimacy of their relationship.

The science-fiction mainly serves as a subtle backdrop with the exception of the familiar idea of computers becoming sentient. But Jonze deserves credit. He’s really doing a lot more here than first looks might reveal. He takes an interesting look at our infatuation with our gadgets and where that could perceivably lead us in the future. There is also a strong focus on communication or lack thereof. The film shows us several relationships that struggle due to the poor abilities to communicate. And speaking of struggles, prepare for a lot of them. In Jonze’s gloomy view of love, nearly every relationship struggles and has a rare hope for survival.

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On the other hand, it’s the rich and unbridled conversations between Theodore and Samantha that causes their relationship to flourish. There are so many scenes of them just talking about simple things that may seem inconsequential but that are vital to making a relationship work. Phoenix is amazing and completely wraps himself up in his character. He displays an enormous range of feelings with such realistic fervor. And Johansson shows why voice work is deserving of more attention than it’s given. Her voice is sultry and sexy but it’s also warm and vulnerable. These two show a deep and growing attraction, yet even here we see Jonze use a little bait and switch.

But while I really appreciate Jonze’s originality and I love being challenged by deeper thought-provoking approaches, there were a handful of things that kept me from fully embracing this as a great film. First there is the movie’s glacial pacing specifically in the second half. The aforementioned conversations between Theodore and Samantha are good at first, but they reach a point where they no longer move the story along. The countless closeup shots of Phoenix laying on a pillow talking to Samantha well after their love has been established grew a bit tiresome. This only slowed things down for a movie that already had a calculated and deliberate pace.

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The film also contains some unneeded scenes that added little to the movie. Olivia Wilde pops up as Theodore’s blind date. While her presence had a purpose, she was a very flimsy, throwaway character. There is also a weird scene where Samantha calls on a surrogate to serve as her physical body in order to be intimate with Theodore. It’s an intentionally uncomfortable scene laced with a touch of dark humor. But as it plays out things get sloppy especially with the surrogate character herself. And then there are these occasional odd tone-shattering attempts at humor. One involves a lewd act with a dead cat’s tail and the other features a cartoony video game character who suddenly spews a river of obscenities. This silly juvenile humor came across as cheap and both scenes felt completely out of place.

I wish I could toss aside those complaints because “Her” does many things right. It asks some great questions and it certainly allows for a variety of interpretations. For example take the ending. Depending on your interpretation it could be a very light and hopeful ending or a very dark and depressing one. I liked that. I love the work we get from Phoenix and Johansson and Rooney Mara’s character added a deeper emotional twist that I really responded to. But the film’s cynicism, the constant lingering of the second half, and some questionable script choices hurt my experience. It’s one of the few movies that captivated me yet had me checking my watch before it was done. Ultimately that’s a disappointing combination that pushed me away a bit.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

The Top 5 Performances of 2013 – Supporting Actress

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A light painting of the year 2013 written against a black background

I love this time of year. It’s when we look back at the movie year that was. In addition to my Top Films of 2013 list I like to break down the four major acting categories and list my five favorite performances of the year for each. And we start today with the ladies. I’m looking at the five phenomenal performances by actresses in a supporting role that really blew me away. There were many this year but these are the ones that top my list:

#5 – Elizabeth Debicki – “The Great Gatsby”

A GatsbyTalk about a movie that drew a mixed reaction! Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” was a fever dream built around some great source material and some good performances. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was the performance from Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki. She played Jordan Baker, a beautiful yet mysterious woman whose playfulness is only trumped by her conceit. Much like the Nick character, I was fascinated with Debicki’s portrayal of Jordan. Unfortunately the script shortchanges the character a bit and Debicki isn’t given enough screen time. Personally I found her performance to be magnetic.

#4 – Allison Janney – “The Way, Way Back”

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It’s funny, this is a performance that I liked a great deal after first seeing it but probably not enough to include it on a prestigious list like this. Yet over time Allison Janney’s work in “The Way, Way Back” has stuck with me. It’s definitely the wackiest performance on my list but it really is brilliant work. Janney plays a kooky, hard-drinking woman who will never win ‘Mother of the Year’. She has a number of funny lines but she never falls into a caricature. In fact there is a warmth to her despite her self-destructive malfunction and we see that because of Janney’s performance. It’s a role that could have went terribly wrong but Janney doesn’t allow that to happen.

#3 – Emily Watson – “The Book Thief”

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I am a huge fan of “The Book Thief” and a big reason for that lies in the performances. From top to bottom the film’s cast is exceptional. Emily Watson plays a strict foster mother who at times comes across as detestable. But surprisingly the character has more depth than we first think and Watson’s shining performance brings her complexities to the surface. It’s not a showy or flashy performance that will naturally draw awards, but I believe she is a big part of one of the film’s key emotional threads. It’s great work from a wonderful actress who rarely gets her due.

#2 – Vera Farmiga – “The Conjuring”

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This may be a small cheat. It could be argued that Farmiga is the lead in James Wan’s surprisingly good horror film “The Conjuring”. I think she could be considered either way so for my benefit I’m putting her here. Farmiga is a wonderful actress and this performance is no exception. There is an natural feel to her work in the film that mainly flows from the 100% commitment she gives to the material. As with many good characters, there is a complexity that draws our interest but it’s sometimes the performance that sparks that. Such was the case here. Farmiga had me from her first scene and I was connected all the way through.

#1 – Lupita Nyong’o – “12 Years a Slave”

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I realize that this may be the obvious or popular pick but that doesn’t bother me. It’s also the right pick for me. I thought the performance from Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o was one of the most piercing things I saw in 2013. It’s a performance that comes across as raw and gushing with emotional power. But that is exactly what the character needed. It’s impossible not to be drawn to her and there are a number of her scenes that will stick in the back of your mind well after the movie is done. I fully expect Nyong’o to get an Oscar nomination and it would be well deserved. In fact, I say give her the statue. It was certainly my favorite supporting actress work of the year.

Thanks for reading. The supporting actors are next. What did you think of this list? Please take time to share your thoughts or your picks in the comments section below.